Analyzing the Compatibility of the Remedial Right of Secession with Regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Abstract

An evolving concept in the realm of international law is the right to remedial secession. Even though this concept has not been completely embedded in customary international law, it is being taken into account as a de lege ferenda (new law) and human-oriented right by scholars of international law. In order for the right of remedial secession to materialize, at least four criteria must be met, namely the existence of a specific group of "people" deemed likely to benefit from secession; that this people is the victim of extensive and long-term persecution and harassment; the impossibility of coexistence between the seceding group and the state encompassing it; and the recognition of such an entity by a minimum number of members of the international community. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict satisfies the first three criteria, but the enclave is not recognized by any sovereign state or international governmental organization. In light of constructivist theory regarding the "social construct of political realities," including "statehood," as well as the on-the-ground political realities, it appears that the status quo, that is, the de facto independence of Karabakh without international recognition, will persist in the future. It appears that the geopolitical changes that took place in Karabakh after the 2020 war will not resolve the legal impasse. The present paper, which is based on a descriptive-analytical method, investigates the compatibility of remedial secession criteria with regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.